How Can Multinational Corporations Be Regulated In the International Field?

How Can Multinational Corporations Be Regulated In the International Field? Though there are gaps between the philosophy and the practice of human rights, nevertheless they are a powerful philosophical discourse and provide widespread moral norms and standards and have a powerful guiding purpose. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 born out of the human rights violations of the Second World War when it was clear that there needed to be codified protection of human rights at international minimum standards. The Charter of the United Nations reaffirmed “faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, [and] in equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small.” The Universal Declaration seeks to protect life, dignity and security of the person and also economic, social and cultural rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in its preamble decrees that “Every individual and every order of society” should promote and respect human rights. As Henkin (1999) states that “Every individual and every organ of society excludes no one, no market, no cyberspace. The Universal Declaration applies to them all.”(p 25). As Secretary-General of Amnesty International held “Human rights are rooted in law. Respecting and protecting them was never meant to be an optional extra, a matter of choice. It is expected and required. It should be part of the mainstream of any company's strategy, not only seen as part of its corporate social responsibility strategy.” The world's largest 200 transnational organizations are incorporated in ten states headed by the United States of America, Japan, Germany, France and the United Kingdom and have enormous political and economic impact on the global world. Regulation of their power is more difficult to encompass beyond their sovereign national borders. If governments succeeded in regulating “its” corporations in global competition the state might receive fewer economic benefits and competitors more. The debate is Whether there should be more public regulation of TNCs in the name of human rights? International instruments have been set up in an endeavour to regulate the conduct of multinational enterprises in the jurisdiction of their host countries .The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 1961 germinated from the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) and is known as “The rich state club.” Thirty countries have now signed the convention which propagates a commitment to the market economy and democratic government. Its seeks to promote “voluntary standards of responsible business conduct” in the framework of the Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises which were adopted in its’ 1976 Declaration on International Investments Multinational Enterprises. There are now also nine adhering non-member states which include Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Estonia, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovenia. The United Nations Global Compact Summit held in Shanghai China in December 2005 resulted in the Shanghai Declaration which has over 2,300 participating companies. The Global Compact recognizes that there are overriding principles of international human rights standards to which companies must adhere bearing in mind the “expanding global commerce” and the “deepening interdependency between states, cultures and people.” It holds that businesses should respect and support the protection of internationally acclaimed human rights and that they must ensure not to be complicit in any abuses of human rights. There are strong arguments against obligatory human rights responsibilities for multinational enterprises. He argues that corporations have a legal responsibility to make profits for shareholders and not to interfere with moral precepts in other societies and that they have no positive duty to serve human rights or legal imperative. There must be a quandary as to which human rights are MNE’s to observe? Clearly they can ameliorate the working conditions of their employees but not their “civil and political” human rights. There are compelling reasons for multinational enterprises to observe response would human rights standards of conduct as advocated by international instruments the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy 1977 and the OECD guidelines For Multinational Enterprises which provide moral expectations and the benchmark for human rights standards There are growing expectations in the public, private, political and economic arenas for multinational companies to respect and adhere to human rights norms and issues in a responsible way hence there are implicit advantages for multinational corporations to adopt human rights policies. Investors are increasingly socially responsive to human rights issues and sensitive to the increasing availability of media information. A good human rights reputation is conducive to positive investor enterprise. Consumers are nurturing and developing growing responsible purchasing choices in the marketplace and have greater accessibility of information to guide their knowledge input. Ready examples are legion such as the environmental issue of access to water in India where villagers complained of depleted clean water supplies as a result of Coca-Cola’s production plants, the security firms Caci, Titan being involved with in illtreatment and torture in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, forced child labour lawsuits brought against Nestles and others in the production of cocoa in West Africa and Virgin Blue airline of Australia discriminating by means of age bias against their flight attendants. Consumers purchase according to the environmental and social conduct of the multinational companies, and therefore human rights company policies and standards are reflected in consumers response. Companies who act outside the premises of human rights standard are also susceptible to boycotts and protests. Non-profit human rights groups, along with the media and particularly consumer organizations and movements, are targeting the corporations. Current employees and future employees are more attracted to working for a company with a positive record in the environmental and social issues. Employees observing internal human rights misconduct may respond working elsewhere. “The Economist” (1998) states, “Today multinationals are under pressure as never before to justify their dealings with abusive regimes and their treatment of employees in developing countries. Firms used to brush off criticism, saying that they had no control of the Third World's suppliers, and that politics was none of their business anyway. This is no longer good enough.”(p13) Non government organizations (NGOs) such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the International Federation for Human Rights are having increasing focus on and scrutiny of the conduct of multinational companies. NGOs are seen as the real motor to the process of growing attention to international human rights. Without the sum total of human rights NGOs,contemporary international relations would be far less supportive of human rights. As Muchlinski(2001) points out the global vigilance, networking of information and mass media utilization is a major impediment to unscrupulous and indifferent policies of MNE’s(p 32) NGOs are able to rally negative public impulses against multinational corporations who failed to respect human rights standards and instigate negative media coverage and widespread protests and boycotts against offending companies. The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre founded in 2002 is an important independent resource internet site which monitors both human rights and business issues. Its purpose “To encourage companies to respect human rights, avoid harm to people and maximize their positive contribution.” It was set up with the purpose of encouraging and promoting companies to respect human rights. It provides one stop easy access to information for non- government organizations, companies and others on the human rights impact of companies. There is growing concern for multinational enterprises to be scrutinize and accountable for their human rights policies and responsibilities and their public opinion as fuelled by the NGOs is a compelling impulse and there are strong compelling reasons for subjecting MNE’s to legal and enforceable obligations. The impact of globalism has social and human rights consequences for the vulnerable and marginalized and those without economic and political power. Multinational corporations produce many plausible reasons why the impact of these disparities between themselves and those on the periphery of society should not be subject to legally enforceable obligations, however, any voluntary obligations should be treated as suspect. These corporations are liable to reinforce such disparities between postindustrial economies and developing societies which are already lagging and plagued by ignorance, poor working conditions, government corruption and multiple burdens of debt. Affluent nations already have an untenable advantage and the cutting edge, while Third World countries lack resources, skill and infrastructure. Legally enforceable obligations of human rights will shift some of the global disparities in both power and wealth by fostering and strengthening the marginalized voices of the developing world and fostering a worldwide civic society. This will create a change in legal, political, and social relations and signify changes in the foundations of human rights thinking and philosophy, for at present corporations are the protected beneficiaries of human rights and their standards. On the international level multinational corporations cannot be held accountable for human rights violations as there exists no international mechanism equipped to do this. At present international regulation of M.NCs regarding human rights remains dependent on national enforcement. In other words there is no system of international law to enforce liability for damage to other countries and violation of the human rights. Social responsibility in transnational commerce is signalled by voluntary commitment. The difference between corporate responsibility and corporate accountability the former being a voluntary response to ethical and moral considerations which as he states is the favourable approach of the International Chamber of Commerce and the United Nations Global Compact. Corporate accountability has due consequences for lack of compliance. Needless to say Multinational Corporations inevitably favour voluntary compliance to their corporate social responsibility (CSR). NGOs such as Christian Aid are regarding the volunteer position as suspect and advocate legal compulsion and consequences for non adherence to international standards of human rights. Muchlinski(2001) states there has been a growing concern for the interaction between multinational enterprises(MNE’s) and human rights , especially with the significant growth in the number of cases of major violations resulting in disputes between the MNE’s and the host governments. (p 31). One such case was that of the Bhopal disaster, one of the world's worst industrial disasters in 1984 when Union Carbide, Dow Chemical hid behind frontiers to avoid responsibility. A Corporation exist with its primary concern to maximize profits and minimize costs for its shareholders. It is in this precinct that it establishes a propensity for harm to the environment, to its workers and to the human rights of people. Because companies hold that their duties are concerned with short-term shareholder profits, corporate decision-makers may hold adherents to human rights programs a breach of duty to maximize profit. The only social responsibility of multinational enterprises is to make profits for their shareholders. In the 2003 film The Corporation a Canadian documentary, Noam Chomsky states that a corporation is a special kind of person, “with no moral barometer, solely concerned with generation the maximum profit possible for its owners.” Milton Friedman in the film explains corporations pursuant of profits created the concept of “externalities” meaning the effects of transactions between two parties on the third uninvolved party. Friedman states these include the use of national military to secure oil rights for energy corporations. In the film Charles Keraghan, director of the National Labour Committee, documents his travels to a sweatshop in El Salvador to demonstrate the conditions of workers of America brand name clothing. As Forsyth (2006) argues, these early initiatives instigated whether by the International Labour Conference (ILC) the OECD, the International Chamber of Commerce or other institutions are defective in their mechanisms of monitoring and have “proved uniformly weak in the 1970s and 1980s.” However, more recent initiatives holds more promise for change, especially negotiated agreements which have adequate monitoring processes and the backing of governments for the implementation and the reporting publicly of corporate human rights activities.(p 245). In 1998 one such initiative agreement occurred in the footwear and apparel industries between Nike, Reebok and others creating the Apparel Industry Partnership (p 239). The American Apparel Manufacturers Association and the Council of Economic Priorities, created by Avon and Toys R U, are further examples of human rights enabling (p239, 240) Environmental damage and desecration by the multinational corporations has been allowed to occur with virtual impunity as a result of the inbalance of power between the multinational and countries in the developing world where national systems are ill equipped to deal with cross border environment issues. As Oxfam (2004) states “There is a massive concentration of corporate power in the global economy.” It is vital to make companies accountable for their activities and to enforce ethical behaviour towards the economic social and environmental contexts within which corporations operate. Multinational corporations entice Third World developing countries with their depreciated environment to weaken regulations and conditions which regulate environmental and regulatory standards. Developing countries will offer favourable treatment to multinational corporations including special tax and tariff treatment, strong protection and a minimum of red tape in a bid to induce corporations to set up operations in their jurisdiction. Hence multinationals feel free to engage in practices which they would not do in their domestic state. The Alien Tort Act 1789 permits redress against the violation of national law by private individuals regardless of the Nationality of the parties. In the nineties an important jurisdictional ruling was made in a court in a case against Unocal Oil Firm California for involvement in forced labour and other violations of human rights in Burma. Human rights organizations attempted to utilize The Alien Tort Act to against transnational corporations for violations of human rights , however, in 2004 the United States Supreme Court narrowed the application of the act and subsequently in the Federal District court refused jurisdiction against American corporations for human rights violations.( Forsyth 2006 p 242) Because the voluntary regulatory systems for international standards is seen as largely ineffective and there is no global court when the damage occurs across boundaries, injured parties will often resort to national courts as a device to redress grievances against harmful activities of international companies . Ideally the court of jurisdiction should be the home country of the parent company which is the location of the company assets and where the decision-making has occurred which has desecrated the environment of another state. When the environmental damage occurs in another country, the home state will have little incentive to redress the damage, while the host country may well the reluctant to deter foreign investment by appearing to regulate investing companies. Courts in developing or Third World countries may be ineffective or unwilling to litigate against powerful multinational corporations, the damages will be lower and courts may be ill-equipped to deal with complex matters of environmental degradation. Though the plaintiff may seek to choose the court's jurisdiction the defendant can resist this by invoking the legal doctrine forum non conveniens. In the case of the Bhopal disaster the world's worst modern industry accident, forum non conveniens was invoked by the plaintiffs Union Carbide Corporation to avoid justice in the United States of America. The federal courts of the United States decided that the case should be heard in jurisdiction of the Indian courts thus denying the defendants’ access to justice and exposing them to the double standards of industrial safety between multinational corporations between First World and Third World countries. The Parliament of Australian Department of Parliamentary Services argues the United States approach to the doctrine forum non conveniens results in US multinational corporations, such as Union Carbide being able to escape accountability in United States “when things go wrong abroad.”(p 2) Clearly the Australian approach, which is to allow international cases to be decided in the country “of greatest connection,” would render the United States’ multinational corporations subject a greater degree of regularity and the assets of the corporations obtainable to enforceable judgment. As Paul(1991) states, “By refusing to exercise jurisdiction in cases such as in re Union Carbide a court effectively allows a US manufacture to avoid US tort liability and encourages other manufacturers to locate plants abroad.”(p71) Paul also argues, “By allowing transnational business to choose legal systems imposing a lower regulatory burden than the United States, US courts have effectively lowered regulatory standards.”(p 71). Had the catastrophic Bhopal gas leak occurred in the jurisdiction of the United States, there would have been a tort action of the immense proportions, significant damages, high accountability and even corporate reorganization. A possible impediment to legal action in a host country is the reluctant to obtain compensation on the grounds that it might deter foreign investment opportunities. In the case of the Bhopal industrial disaster the Indian Government in 1985 enacted the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster (Processing of Claims) Act where it became the sole litigant in any court proceedings against Union Carbide. Amnesty International USA (2007) states that in Bhopal thousands of people “were denied their right to life, and tens of thousand of people have had their right to health undermined. Those struggling for justice and the right to a remedy in Bhopal have been frustrated in efforts.” Amnesty also stresses that those who continue to live there have been denied the right to safe environment and continue to be exposed to contaminated water. On the third of December 1984 at midnight , in Bhopal, the capital of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, , 43 tons of methyl isocyanate (MIC) leaked from a holding storage tank at a chemical pesticide plant belonging to an American multi-national company Union Carbide Corporation.. MIC is a highly toxic substance and is the active agent for making the pesticide Sevin. Because of its instability it must be kept at low temperatures. It had been kept in dangerously bulk storage and were not properly monitored or controlled. The safety system was defectively designed. Neither the workers nor the general population were aware of the dangers of the deadly chemicals and there was virtually no protection for the employees working with these dangerous chemicals. Bhopal has a population of the 900,000 people. The densely packed shanty town and slum settlements surround the factory on three sides. Union Carbide is located two miles from the centre of the old city and it is one of the most densely populated areas of the city with the railway station and bus station a mere mile from the factory. The Town and Country Planning Department (1975) had stressed that the designated plant site was not for hazardous industries, however, Union Carbide was a powerful company with economic leverage and political influence so that government authorities overruled local city objections. (Shrivastava 1987 pp 41, 42). As Everest (1986) states, India, as other Third World countries, is dependent on foreign capital for its development and there was “little real regulation of Union Carbide.”(p 120)There was also an unlimited supply of cheap labour. (Everest 1986 p 62 ) There were low standards of safety and working conditions because Union Carbide was determined to keep costs of production low and profits maximized. The gas leak was caused by faulty valves and the water leakage into the methyl isocyanate holding tank and reacted by the release of toxic gas. The lethal gas was heavier than air and rolled along with ground Approximately 500,000 people were exposed to the toxic MIC gas cloud. Around 3000 died that night, approximately 4000 people died during the next few days and 15,000 in the following years. (Amnesty International 2004, Greenpeace 2004, Bhopal Medical Appeal,). While many died in their sleep , thousands more ran through the narrow dark alley ways trying to escape the dense gas cloud which made it difficult to breathe and burned the eyes and lungs. Many fell dead. The survivors suffered extensive lung damage, cardiac damage, blindness, long-term gynaecological problems, pelvic inflammatory diseases, cervical erosion and slow death. As Everest (1986) states “Civil authority was virtually nonexistent” and few medical facilities were available. (pp12, 13) Union Carbide had used the structure of dependency of India, a Third World country, to establish an operation without safeguards and responsibility towards the environment, their workers and the population and engaged in practices which resulted in catastrophic human and environmental damage. Susceptibility of developing countries and lack of international regulation allowed them to hide behind frontiers and deprived the world's most vulnerable, just settlement. In 1989 the Indian government accepted an out of court settlement from Union Carbide of $470 million, little if this money has reached the victims and their families. 20 years later the site of the factory is still contaminated with toxic waste and the water is still contaminated. (Anderson 2002 p 250) Anderson stresses that the Bhopal disaster contains lessons “for all those who valued the protection of human life through international safety standards” that multi-international corporations should be accountable to stakeholders as well as shareholders and that the primacy of human life supersedes profit. (253)

The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen (1836)

FAR out in the ocean, where the water is as blue as the prettiest cornflower, and as clear as crystal, it is very, very deep; so deep, indeed, that no cable could fathom it: many church steeples, piled one upon another, would not reach from the ground beneath to the surface of the water above. There dwell the Sea King and his subjects. We must not imagine that there is nothing at the bottom of the sea but bare yellow sand.

No, indeed; the most singular flowers and plants grow there; the leaves and stems of which are so pliant, that the slightest agitation of the water causes them to stir as if they had life. Fishes, both large and small, glide between the branches, as birds fly among the trees here upon land.In the deepest spot of all, stands the castle of the Sea King. Its walls are built of coral, and the long, gothic windows are of the clearest amber. The roof is formed of shells, that open and close as the water flows over them. Their appearance is very beautiful, for in each lies a glittering pearl, which would be fit for the diadem of a queen.

The Sea King had been a widower for many years, and his aged mother kept house for him. She was a very wise woman, and exceedingly proud of her high birth; on that account she wore twelve oysters on her tail; while others, also of high rank, were only allowed to wear six. She was, however, deserving of very great praise, especially for her care of the little sea-princesses, her grand-daughters. They were six beautiful children; but the youngest was the prettiest of them all; her skin was as clear and delicate as a rose-leaf, and her eyes as blue as the deepest sea; but, like all the others, she had no feet, and her body ended in a fish’s tail. All day long they played in the great halls of the castle, or among the living flowers that grew out of the walls. The large amber windows were open, and the fish swam in, just as the swallows fly into our houses when we open the windows, excepting that the fishes swam up to the princesses, ate out of their hands, and allowed themselves to be stroked. Outside the castle there was a beautiful garden, in which grew bright red and dark blue flowers, and blossoms like flames of fire; the fruit glittered like gold, and the leaves and stems waved to and fro continually. The earth itself was the finest sand, but blue as the flame of burning sulphur. Over everything lay a peculiar blue radiance, as if it were surrounded by the air from above, through which the blue sky shone, instead of the dark depths of the sea. In calm weather the sun could be seen, looking like a purple flower, with the light streaming from the calyx. Each of the young princesses had a little plot of ground in the garden, where she might dig and plant as she pleased. One arranged her flower-bed into the form of a whale; another thought it better to make hers like the figure of a little mermaid; but that of the youngest was round like the sun, and contained flowers as red as his rays at sunset. She was a strange child, quiet and thoughtful; and while her sisters would be delighted with the wonderful things which they obtained from the wrecks of vessels, she cared for nothing but her pretty red flowers, like the sun, excepting a beautiful marble statue. It was the representation of a handsome boy, carved out of pure white stone, which had fallen to the bottom of the sea from a wreck. She planted by the statue a rose-colored weeping willow. It grew splendidly, and very soon hung its fresh branches over the statue, almost down to the blue sands. The shadow had a violet tint, and waved to and fro like the branches; it seemed as if the crown of the tree and the root were at play, and trying to kiss each other. Nothing gave her so much pleasure as to hear about the world above the sea. She made her old grandmother tell her all she knew of the ships and of the towns, the people and the animals. To her it seemed most wonderful and beautiful to hear that the flowers of the land should have fragrance, and not those below the sea; that the trees of the forest should be green; and that the fishes among the trees could sing so sweetly, that it was quite a pleasure to hear them. Her grandmother called the little birds fishes, or she would not have understood her; for she had never seen birds.

“When you have reached your fifteenth year,” said the grand-mother, “you will have permission to rise up out of the sea, to sit on the rocks in the moonlight, while the great ships are sailing by; and then you will see both forests and towns.” In the following year, one of the sisters would be fifteen: but as each was a year younger than the other, the youngest would have to wait five years before her turn came to rise up from the bottom of the ocean, and see the earth as we do. However, each promised to tell the others what she saw on her first visit, and what she thought the most beautiful; for their grandmother could not tell them enough; there were so many things on which they wanted information. None of them longed so much for her turn to come as the youngest, she who had the longest time to wait, and who was so quiet and thoughtful. Many nights she stood by the open window, looking up through the dark blue water, and watching the fish as they splashed about with their fins and tails. She could see the moon and stars shining faintly; but through the water they looked larger than they do to our eyes. When something like a black cloud passed between her and them, she knew that it was either a whale swimming over her head, or a ship full of human beings, who never imagined that a pretty little mermaid was standing beneath them, holding out her white hands towards the keel of their ship.

As soon as the eldest was fifteen, she was allowed to rise to the surface of the ocean. When she came back, she had hundreds of things to talk about; but the most beautiful, she said, was to lie in the moonlight, on a sandbank, in the quiet sea, near the coast, and to gaze on a large town nearby, where the lights were twinkling like hundreds of stars; to listen to the sounds of the music, the noise of carriages, and the voices of human beings, and then to hear the merry bells peal out from the church steeples; and because she could not go near to all those wonderful things, she longed for them more than ever. Oh, did not the youngest sister listen eagerly to all these descriptions? and afterwards, when she stood at the open window looking up through the dark blue water, she thought of the great city, with all its bustle and noise, and even fancied she could hear the sound of the church bells, down in the depths of the sea.

In another year the second sister received permission to rise to the surface of the water, and to swim about where she pleased. She rose just as the sun was setting, and this, she said, was the most beautiful sight of all. The whole sky looked like gold, while violet and rose-colored clouds, which she could not describe, floated over her; and, still more rapidly than the clouds, flew a large flock of wild swans towards the setting sun, looking like a long white veil across the sea. She also swam towards the sun; but it sunk into the waves, and the rosy tints faded from the clouds and from the sea. The third sister’s turn followed; she was the boldest of them all, and she swam up a broad river that emptied itself into the sea. On the banks she saw green hills covered with beautiful vines; palaces and castles peeped out from amid the proud trees of the forest; she heard the birds singing, and the rays of the sun were so powerful that she was obliged often to dive down under the water to cool her burning face. In a narrow creek she found a whole troop of little human children, quite naked, and sporting about in the water; she wanted to play with them, but they fled in a great fright; and then a little black animal came to the water; it was a dog, but she did not know that, for she had never before seen one. This animal barked at her so terribly that she became frightened, and rushed back to the open sea. But she said she should never forget the beautiful forest, the green hills, and the pretty little children who could swim in the water, although they had not fish’s tails.

The fourth sister was more timid; she remained in the midst of the sea, but she said it was quite as beautiful there as nearer the land. She could see for so many miles around her, and the sky above looked like a bell of glass. She had seen the ships, but at such a great distance that they looked like sea-gulls. The dolphins sported in the waves, and the great whales spouted water from their nostrils till it seemed as if a hundred fountains were playing in every direction. The fifth sister’s birthday occurred in the winter; so when her turn came, she saw what the others had not seen the first time they went up. The sea looked quite green, and large icebergs were floating about, each like a pearl, she said, but larger and loftier than the churches built by men. They were of the most singular shapes, and glittered like diamonds. She had seated herself upon one of the largest, and let the wind play with her long hair, and she remarked that all the ships sailed by rapidly, and steered as far away as they could from the iceberg, as if they were afraid of it. Towards evening, as the sun went down, dark clouds covered the sky, the thunder rolled and the lightning flashed, and the red light glowed on the icebergs as they rocked and tossed on the heaving sea. On all the ships the sails were reefed with fear and trembling, while she sat calmly on the floating iceberg, watching the blue lightning, as it darted its forked flashes into the sea. When first the sisters had permission to rise to the surface, they were each delighted with the new and beautiful sights they saw; but now, as grown-up girls, they could go when they pleased, and they had become indifferent about it. They wished themselves back again in the water, and after a month had passed they said it was much more beautiful down below, and pleasanter to be at home. Yet often, in the evening hours, the five sisters would twine their arms round each other, and rise to the surface, in a row. They had more beautiful voices than any human being could have; and before the approach of a storm, and when they expected a ship would be lost, they swam before the vessel, and sang sweetly of the delights to be found in the depths of the sea, and begging the sailors not to fear if they sank to the bottom. But the sailors could not understand the song, they took it for the howling of the storm. And these things were never to be beautiful for them; for if the ship sank, the men were drowned, and their dead bodies alone reached the palace of the Sea King. When the sisters rose, arm-in-arm, through the water in this way, their youngest sister would stand quite alone, looking after them, ready to cry, only that the mermaids have no tears, and therefore they suffer more. “Oh, were I but fifteen years old,” said she: “I know that I shall love the world up there, and all the people who live in it.” At last she reached her fifteenth year. “Well, now, you are grown up,” said the old dowager, her grandmother; “so you must let me adorn you like your other sisters;” and she placed a wreath of white lilies in her hair, and every flower leaf was half a pearl. Then the old lady ordered eight great oysters to attach themselves to the tail of the princess to show her high rank.

“But they hurt me so,” said the little mermaid. “Pride must suffer pain,” replied the old lady. Oh, how gladly she would have shaken off all this grandeur, and laid aside the heavy wreath! The red flowers in her own garden would have suited her much better, but she could not help herself: so she said, “Farewell,” and rose as lightly as a bubble to the surface of the water. The sun had just set as she raised her head above the waves; but the clouds were tinted with crimson and gold, and through the glimmering twilight beamed the evening star in all its beauty. The sea was calm, and the air mild and fresh. A large ship, with three masts, lay becalmed on the water, with only one sail set; for not a breeze stiffed, and the sailors sat idle on deck or amongst the rigging. There was music and song on board; and, as darkness came on, a hundred colored lanterns were lighted, as if the flags of all nations waved in the air. The little mermaid swam close to the cabin windows; and now and then, as the waves lifted her up, she could look in through clear glass window-panes, and see a number of well-dressed people within. Among them was a young prince, the most beautiful of all, with large black eyes; he was sixteen years of age, and his birthday was being kept with much rejoicing. The sailors were dancing on deck, but when the prince came out of the cabin, more than a hundred rockets rose in the air, making it as bright as day. The little mermaid was so startled that she dived under water; and when she again stretched out her head, it appeared as if all the stars of heaven were falling around her, she had never seen such fireworks before. Great suns spurted fire about, splendid fireflies flew into the blue air, and everything was reflected in the clear, calm sea beneath. The ship itself was so brightly illuminated that all the people, and even the smallest rope, could be distinctly and plainly seen. And how handsome the young prince looked, as he pressed the hands of all present and smiled at them, while the music resounded through the clear night air.

It was very late; yet the little mermaid could not take her eyes from the ship, or from the beautiful prince. The colored lanterns had been extinguished, no more rockets rose in the air, and the cannon had ceased firing; but the sea became restless, and a moaning, grumbling sound could be heard beneath the waves: still the little mermaid remained by the cabin window, rocking up and down on the water, which enabled her to look in. After a while, the sails were quickly unfurled, and the noble ship continued her passage; but soon the waves rose higher, heavy clouds darkened the sky, and lightning appeared in the distance. A dreadful storm was approaching; once more the sails were reefed, and the great ship pursued her flying course over the raging sea. The waves rose mountains high, as if they would have overtopped the mast; but the ship dived like a swan between them, and then rose again on their lofty, foaming crests. To the little mermaid this appeared pleasant sport; not so to the sailors. At length the ship groaned and creaked; the thick planks gave way under the lashing of the sea as it broke over the deck; the mainmast snapped asunder like a reed; the ship lay over on her side; and the water rushed in. The little mermaid now perceived that the crew were in danger; even she herself was obliged to be careful to avoid the beams and planks of the wreck which lay scattered on the water. At one moment it was so pitch dark that she could not see a single object, but a flash of lightning revealed the whole scene; she could see every one who had been on board excepting the prince; when the ship parted, she had seen him sink into the deep waves, and she was glad, for she thought he would now be with her; and then she remembered that human beings could not live in the water, so that when he got down to her father’s palace he would be quite dead. But he must not die. So she swam about among the beams and planks which strewed the surface of the sea, forgetting that they could crush her to pieces. Then she dived deeply under the dark waters, rising and falling with the waves, till at length she managed to reach the young prince, who was fast losing the power of swimming in that stormy sea. His limbs were failing him, his beautiful eyes were closed, and he would have died had not the little mermaid come to his assistance. She held his head above the water, and let the waves drift them where they would. In the morning the storm had ceased; but of the ship not a single fragment could be seen. The sun rose up red and glowing from the water, and its beams brought back the hue of health to the prince’s cheeks; but his eyes remained closed. The mermaid kissed his high, smooth forehead, and stroked back his wet hair; he seemed to her like the marble statue in her little garden, and she kissed him again, and wished that he might live. Presently they came in sight of land; she saw lofty blue mountains, on which the white snow rested as if a flock of swans were lying upon them. Near the coast were beautiful green forests, and close by stood a large building, whether a church or a convent she could not tell. Orange and citron trees grew in the garden, and before the door stood lofty palms. The sea here formed a little bay, in which the water was quite still, but very deep; so she swam with the handsome prince to the beach, which was covered with fine, white sand, and there she laid him in the warm sunshine, taking care to raise his head higher than his body. Then bells sounded in the large white building, and a number of young girls came into the garden. The little mermaid swam out farther from the shore and placed herself between some high rocks that rose out of the water; then she covered her head and neck with the foam of the sea so that her little face might not be seen, and watched to see what would become of the poor prince. She did not wait long before she saw a young girl approach the spot where he lay. She seemed frightened at first, but only for a moment; then she fetched a number of people, and the mermaid saw that the prince came to life again, and smiled upon those who stood round him. But to her he sent no smile; he knew not that she had saved him. This made her very unhappy, and when he was led away into the great building, she dived down sorrowfully into the water, and returned to her father’s castle. She had always been silent and thoughtful, and now she was more so than ever. Her sisters asked her what she had seen during her first visit to the surface of the water; but she would tell them nothing. Many an evening and morning did she rise to the place where she had left the prince. She saw the fruits in the garden ripen till they were gathered, the snow on the tops of the mountains melt away; but she never saw the prince, and therefore she returned home, always more sorrowful than before. It was her only comfort to sit in her own little garden, and fling her arm round the beautiful marble statue which was like the prince; but she gave up tending her flowers, and they grew in wild confusion over the paths, twining their long leaves and stems round the branches of the trees, so that the whole place became dark and gloomy. At length she could bear it no longer, and told one of her sisters all about it. Then the others heard the secret, and very soon it became known to two mermaids whose intimate friend happened to know who the prince was. She had also seen the festival on board ship, and she told them where the prince came from, and where his palace stood.

“Come, little sister,” said the other princesses; then they entwined their arms and rose up in a long row to the surface of the water, close by the spot where they knew the prince’s palace stood. It was built of bright yellow shining stone, with long flights of marble steps, one of which reached quite down to the sea. Splendid gilded cupolas rose over the roof, and between the pillars that surrounded the whole building stood life-like statues of marble. Through the clear crystal of the lofty windows could be seen noble rooms, with costly silk curtains and hangings of tapestry; while the walls were covered with beautiful paintings which were a pleasure to look at. In the centre of the largest saloon a fountain threw its sparkling jets high up into the glass cupola of the ceiling, through which the sun shone down upon the water and upon the beautiful plants growing round the basin of the fountain. Now that she knew where he lived, she spent many an evening and many a night on the water near the palace. She would swim much nearer the shore than any of the others ventured to do; indeed once she went quite up the narrow channel under the marble balcony, which threw a broad shadow on the water. Here she would sit and watch the young prince, who thought himself quite alone in the bright moonlight. She saw him many times of an evening sailing in a pleasant boat, with music playing and flags waving. She peeped out from among the green rushes, and if the wind caught her long silvery-white veil, those who saw it believed it to be a swan, spreading out its wings. On many a night, too, when the fishermen, with their torches, were out at sea, she heard them relate so many good things about the doings of the young prince, that she was glad she had saved his life when he had been tossed about half-dead on the waves. And she remembered that his head had rested on her bosom, and how heartily she had kissed him; but he knew nothing of all this, and could not even dream of her. She grew more and more fond of human beings, and wished more and more to be able to wander about with those whose world seemed to be so much larger than her own. They could fly over the sea in ships, and mount the high hills which were far above the clouds; and the lands they possessed, their woods and their fields, stretched far away beyond the reach of her sight. There was so much that she wished to know, and her sisters were unable to answer all her questions. Then she applied to her old grandmother, who knew all about the upper world, which she very rightly called the lands above the sea.

“If human beings are not drowned,” asked the little mermaid, “can they live forever? do they never die as we do here in the sea?” “Yes,” replied the old lady, “they must also die, and their term of life is even shorter than ours. We sometimes live to three hundred years, but when we cease to exist here we only become the foam on the surface of the water, and we have not even a grave down here of those we love. We have not immortal souls, we shall never live again; but, like the green sea-weed, when once it has been cut off, we can never flourish more. Human beings, on the contrary, have a soul which lives forever, lives after the body has been turned to dust. It rises up through the clear, pure air beyond the glittering stars. As we rise out of the water, and behold all the land of the earth, so do they rise to unknown and glorious regions which we shall never see.” “Why have not we an immortal soul?” asked the little mermaid mournfully; “I would give gladly all the hundreds of years that I have to live, to be a human being only for one day, and to have the hope of knowing the happiness of that glorious world above the stars.” “You must not think of that,” said the old woman; “we feel ourselves to be much happier and much better off than human beings.” “So I shall die,” said the little mermaid, “and as the foam of the sea I shall be driven about never again to hear the music of the waves, or to see the pretty flowers nor the red sun. Is there anything I can do to win an immortal soul?” “No,” said the old woman, “unless a man were to love you so much that you were more to him than his father or mother; and if all his thoughts and all his love were fixed upon you, and the priest placed his right hand in yours, and he promised to be true to you here and hereafter, then his soul would glide into your body and you would obtain a share in the future happiness of mankind. He would give a soul to you and retain his own as well; but this can never happen. Your fish’s tail, which amongst us is considered so beautiful, is thought on earth to be quite ugly; they do not know any better, and they think it necessary to have two stout props, which they call legs, in order to be handsome.” Then the little mermaid sighed, and looked sorrowfully at her fish’s tail. “Let us be happy,” said the old lady, “and dart and spring about during the three hundred years that we have to live, which is really quite long enough; after that we can rest ourselves all the better. This evening we are going to have a court ball.” It is one of those splendid sights which we can never see on earth. The walls and the ceiling of the large ball-room were of thick, but transparent crystal. May hundreds of colossal shells, some of a deep red, others of a grass green, stood on each side in rows, with blue fire in them, which lighted up the whole saloon, and shone through the walls, so that the sea was also illuminated. Innumerable fishes, great and small, swam past the crystal walls; on some of them the scales glowed with a purple brilliancy, and on others they shone like silver and gold. Through the halls flowed a broad stream, and in it danced the mermen and the mermaids to the music of their own sweet singing. No one on earth has such a lovely voice as theirs. The little mermaid sang more sweetly than them all. The whole court applauded her with hands and tails; and for a moment her heart felt quite gay, for she knew she had the loveliest voice of any on earth or in the sea. But she soon thought again of the world above her, for she could not forget the charming prince, nor her sorrow that she had not an immortal soul like his; therefore she crept away silently out of her father’s palace, and while everything within was gladness and song, she sat in her own little garden sorrowful and alone. Then she heard the bugle sounding through the water, and thought—“He is certainly sailing above, he on whom my wishes depend, and in whose hands I should like to place the happiness of my life. I will venture all for him, and to win an immortal soul, while my sisters are dancing in my father’s palace, I will go to the sea witch, of whom I have always been so much afraid, but she can give me counsel and help.” And then the little mermaid went out from her garden, and took the road to the foaming whirlpools, behind which the sorceress lived. She had never been that way before: neither flowers nor grass grew there; nothing but bare, gray, sandy ground stretched out to the whirlpool, where the water, like foaming mill-wheels, whirled round everything that it seized, and cast it into the fathomless deep. Through the midst of these crushing whirlpools the little mermaid was obliged to pass, to reach the dominions of the sea witch; and also for a long distance the only road lay right across a quantity of warm, bubbling mire, called by the witch her turfmoor. Beyond this stood her house, in the centre of a strange forest, in which all the trees and flowers were polypi, half animals and half plants; they looked like serpents with a hundred heads growing out of the ground. The branches were long slimy arms, with fingers like flexible worms, moving limb after limb from the root to the top. All that could be reached in the sea they seized upon, and held fast, so that it never escaped from their clutches. The little mermaid was so alarmed at what she saw, that she stood still, and her heart beat with fear, and she was very nearly turning back; but she thought of the prince, and of the human soul for which she longed, and her courage returned. She fastened her long flowing hair round her head, so that the polypi might not seize hold of it. She laid her hands together across her bosom, and then she darted forward as a fish shoots through the water, between the supple arms and fingers of the ugly polypi, which were stretched out on each side of her. She saw that each held in its grasp something it had seized with its numerous little arms, as if they were iron bands. The white skeletons of human beings who had perished at sea, and had sunk down into the deep waters, skeletons of land animals, oars, rudders, and chests of ships were lying tightly grasped by their clinging arms; even a little mermaid, whom they had caught and strangled; and this seemed the most shocking of all to the little princess. She now came to a space of marshy ground in the wood, where large, fat water-snakes were rolling in the mire, and showing their ugly, drab-colored bodies. In the midst of this spot stood a house, built with the bones of shipwrecked human beings. There sat the sea witch, allowing a toad to eat from her mouth, just as people sometimes feed a canary with a piece of sugar. She called the ugly water-snakes her little chickens, and allowed them to crawl all over her bosom.

“I know what you want,” said the sea witch; “it is very stupid of you, but you shall have your way, and it will bring you to sorrow, my pretty princess. You want to get rid of your fish’s tail, and to have two supports instead of it, like human beings on earth, so that the young prince may fall in love with you, and that you may have an immortal soul.” And then the witch laughed so loud and disgustingly, that the toad and the snakes fell to the ground, and lay there wriggling about. “You are but just in time,” said the witch; “for after sunrise to-morrow I should not be able to help you till the end of another year. I will prepare a draught for you, with which you must swim to land tomorrow before sunrise, and sit down on the shore and drink it. Your tail will then disappear, and shrink up into what mankind calls legs, and you will feel great pain, as if a sword were passing through you. But all who see you will say that you are the prettiest little human being they ever saw. You will still have the same floating gracefulness of movement, and no dancer will ever tread so lightly; but at every step you take it will feel as if you were treading upon sharp knives, and that the blood must flow. If you will bear all this, I will help you.” “Yes, I will,” said the little princess in a trembling voice, as she thought of the prince and the immortal soul. “But think again,” said the witch; “for when once your shape has become like a human being, you can no more be a mermaid. You will never return through the water to your sisters, or to your father’s palace again; and if you do not win the love of the prince, so that he is willing to forget his father and mother for your sake, and to love you with his whole soul, and allow the priest to join your hands that you may be man and wife, then you will never have an immortal soul. The first morning after he marries another your heart will break, and you will become foam on the crest of the waves.” “I will do it,” said the little mermaid, and she became pale as death. “But I must be paid also,” said the witch, “and it is not a trifle that I ask. You have the sweetest voice of any who dwell here in the depths of the sea, and you believe that you will be able to charm the prince with it also, but this voice you must give to me; the best thing you possess will I have for the price of my draught. My own blood must be mixed with it, that it may be as sharp as a two-edged sword.” “But if you take away my voice,” said the little mermaid, “what is left for me?” “Your beautiful form, your graceful walk, and your expressive eyes; surely with these you can enchain a man’s heart. Well, have you lost your courage? Put out your little tongue that I may cut it off as my payment; then you shall have the powerful draught.” “It shall be,” said the little mermaid. Then the witch placed her cauldron on the fire, to prepare the magic draught. “Cleanliness is a good thing,” said she, scouring the vessel with snakes, which she had tied together in a large knot; then she pricked herself in the breast, and let the black blood drop into it. The steam that rose formed itself into such horrible shapes that no one could look at them without fear. Every moment the witch threw something else into the vessel, and when it began to boil, the sound was like the weeping of a crocodile. When at last the magic draught was ready, it looked like the clearest water. “There it is for you,” said the witch. Then she cut off the mermaid’s tongue, so that she became dumb, and would never again speak or sing. “If the polypi should seize hold of you as you return through the wood,” said the witch, “throw over them a few drops of the potion, and their fingers will be torn into a thousand pieces.” But the little mermaid had no occasion to do this, for the polypi sprang back in terror when they caught sight of the glittering draught, which shone in her hand like a twinkling star.

So she passed quickly through the wood and the marsh, and between the rushing whirlpools. She saw that in her father’s palace the torches in the ballroom were extinguished, and all within asleep; but she did not venture to go in to them, for now she was dumb and going to leave them forever, she felt as if her heart would break. She stole into the garden, took a flower from the flower-beds of each of her sisters, kissed her hand a thousand times towards the palace, and then rose up through the dark blue waters. The sun had not risen when she came in sight of the prince’s palace, and approached the beautiful marble steps, but the moon shone clear and bright. Then the little mermaid drank the magic draught, and it seemed as if a two-edged sword went through her delicate body: she fell into a swoon, and lay like one dead. When the sun arose and shone over the sea, she recovered, and felt a sharp pain; but just before her stood the handsome young prince. He fixed his coal-black eyes upon her so earnestly that she cast down her own, and then became aware that her fish’s tail was gone, and that she had as pretty a pair of white legs and tiny feet as any little maiden could have; but she had no clothes, so she wrapped herself in her long, thick hair. The prince asked her who she was, and where she came from, and she looked at him mildly and sorrowfully with her deep blue eyes; but she could not speak. Every step she took was as the witch had said it would be, she felt as if treading upon the points of needles or sharp knives; but she bore it willingly, and stepped as lightly by the prince’s side as a soap-bubble, so that he and all who saw her wondered at her graceful-swaying movements. She was very soon arrayed in costly robes of silk and muslin, and was the most beautiful creature in the palace; but she was dumb, and could neither speak nor sing. Beautiful female slaves, dressed in silk and gold, stepped forward and sang before the prince and his royal parents: one sang better than all the others, and the prince clapped his hands and smiled at her. This was great sorrow to the little mermaid; she knew how much more sweetly she herself could sing once, and she thought, “Oh if he could only know that! I have given away my voice forever, to be with him.” The slaves next performed some pretty fairy-like dances, to the sound of beautiful music. Then the little mermaid raised her lovely white arms, stood on the tips of her toes, and glided over the floor, and danced as no one yet had been able to dance. At each moment her beauty became more revealed, and her expressive eyes appealed more directly to the heart than the songs of the slaves. Every one was enchanted, especially the prince, who called her his little foundling; and she danced again quite readily, to please him, though each time her foot touched the floor it seemed as if she trod on sharp knives.

The prince said she should remain with him always, and she received permission to sleep at his door, on a velvet cushion. He had a page’s dress made for her, that she might accompany him on horseback. They rode together through the sweet-scented woods, where the green boughs touched their shoulders, and the little birds sang among the fresh leaves. She climbed with the prince to the tops of high mountains; and although her tender feet bled so that even her steps were marked, she only laughed, and followed him till they could see the clouds beneath them looking like a flock of birds travelling to distant lands. While at the prince’s palace, and when all the household were asleep, she would go and sit on the broad marble steps; for it eased her burning feet to bathe them in the cold sea-water; and then she thought of all those below in the deep. Once during the night her sisters came up arm-in-arm, singing sorrowfully, as they floated on the water. She beckoned to them, and then they recognized her, and told her how she had grieved them. After that, they came to the same place every night; and once she saw in the distance her old grandmother, who had not been to the surface of the sea for many years, and the old Sea King, her father, with his crown on his head. They stretched out their hands towards her, but they did not venture so near the land as her sisters did. As the days passed, she loved the prince more fondly, and he loved her as he would love a little child, but it never came into his head to make her his wife; yet, unless he married her, she could not receive an immortal soul; and, on the morning after his marriage with another, she would dissolve into the foam of the sea. “Do you not love me the best of them all?” the eyes of the little mermaid seemed to say, when he took her in his arms, and kissed her fair forehead. “Yes, you are dear to me,” said the prince; “for you have the best heart, and you are the most devoted to me; you are like a young maiden whom I once saw, but whom I shall never meet again. I was in a ship that was wrecked, and the waves cast me ashore near a holy temple, where several young maidens performed the service. The youngest of them found me on the shore, and saved my life. I saw her but twice, and she is the only one in the world whom I could love; but you are like her, and you have almost driven her image out of my mind. She belongs to the holy temple, and my good fortune has sent you to me instead of her; and we will never part.” “Ah, he knows not that it was I who saved his life,” thought the little mermaid. “I carried him over the sea to the wood where the temple stands: I sat beneath the foam, and watched till the human beings came to help him. I saw the pretty maiden that he loves better than he loves me;” and the mermaid sighed deeply, but she could not shed tears. “He says the maiden belongs to the holy temple, therefore she will never return to the world. They will meet no more: while I am by his side, and see him every day. I will take care of him, and love him, and give up my life for his sake.” Very soon it was said that the prince must marry, and that the beautiful daughter of a neighboring king would be his wife, for a fine ship was being fitted out. Although the prince gave out that he merely intended to pay a visit to the king, it was generally supposed that he really went to see his daughter. A great company were to go with him. The little mermaid smiled, and shook her head. She knew the prince’s thoughts better than any of the others. “I must travel,” he had said to her; “I must see this beautiful princess; my parents desire it; but they will not oblige me to bring her home as my bride. I cannot love her; she is not like the beautiful maiden in the temple, whom you resemble. If I were forced to choose a bride, I would rather choose you, my dumb foundling, with those expressive eyes.” And then he kissed her rosy mouth, played with her long waving hair, and laid his head on her heart, while she dreamed of human happiness and an immortal soul. “You are not afraid of the sea, my dumb child,” said he, as they stood on the deck of the noble ship which was to carry them to the country of the neighboring king. And then he told her of storm and of calm, of strange fishes in the deep beneath them, and of what the divers had seen there; and she smiled at his descriptions, for she knew better than any one what wonders were at the bottom of the sea. In the moonlight, when all on board were asleep, excepting the man at the helm, who was steering, she sat on the deck, gazing down through the clear water. She thought she could distinguish her father’s castle, and upon it her aged grandmother, with the silver crown on her head, looking through the rushing tide at the keel of the vessel. Then her sisters came up on the waves, and gazed at her mournfully, wringing their white hands. She beckoned to them, and smiled, and wanted to tell them how happy and well off she was; but the cabin-boy approached, and when her sisters dived down he thought it was only the foam of the sea which he saw.

The next morning the ship sailed into the harbor of a beautiful town belonging to the king whom the prince was going to visit. The church bells were ringing, and from the high towers sounded a flourish of trumpets; and soldiers, with flying colors and glittering bayonets, lined the rocks through which they passed. Every day was a festival; balls and entertainments followed one another. But the princess had not yet appeared. People said that she was being brought up and educated in a religious house, where she was learning every royal virtue. At last she came. Then the little mermaid, who was very anxious to see whether she was really beautiful, was obliged to acknowledge that she had never seen a more perfect vision of beauty. Her skin was delicately fair, and beneath her long dark eye-lashes her laughing blue eyes shone with truth and purity. “It was you,” said the prince, “who saved my life when I lay dead on the beach,” and he folded his blushing bride in his arms. “Oh, I am too happy,” said he to the little mermaid; “my fondest hopes are all fulfilled. You will rejoice at my happiness; for your devotion to me is great and sincere.” The little mermaid kissed his hand, and felt as if her heart were already broken. His wedding morning would bring death to her, and she would change into the foam of the sea. All the church bells rung, and the heralds rode about the town proclaiming the betrothal. Perfumed oil was burning in costly silver lamps on every altar. The priests waved the censers, while the bride and bridegroom joined their hands and received the blessing of the bishop. The little mermaid, dressed in silk and gold, held up the bride’s train; but her ears heard nothing of the festive music, and her eyes saw not the holy ceremony; she thought of the night of death which was coming to her, and of all she had lost in the world. On the same evening the bride and bridegroom went on board ship; cannons were roaring, flags waving, and in the centre of the ship a costly tent of purple and gold had been erected. It contained elegant couches, for the reception of the bridal pair during the night. The ship, with swelling sails and a favorable wind, glided away smoothly and lightly over the calm sea. When it grew dark a number of colored lamps were lit, and the sailors danced merrily on the deck. The little mermaid could not help thinking of her first rising out of the sea, when she had seen similar festivities and joys; and she joined in the dance, poised herself in the air as a swallow when he pursues his prey, and all present cheered her with wonder. She had never danced so elegantly before. Her tender feet felt as if cut with sharp knives, but she cared not for it; a sharper pang had pierced through her heart. She knew this was the last evening she should ever see the prince, for whom she had forsaken her kindred and her home; she had given up her beautiful voice, and suffered unheard-of pain daily for him, while he knew nothing of it. This was the last evening that she would breathe the same air with him, or gaze on the starry sky and the deep sea; an eternal night, without a thought or a dream, awaited her: she had no soul and now she could never win one. All was joy and gayety on board ship till long after midnight; she laughed and danced with the rest, while the thoughts of death were in her heart. The prince kissed his beautiful bride, while she played with his raven hair, till they went arm-in-arm to rest in the splendid tent. Then all became still on board the ship; the helmsman, alone awake, stood at the helm. The little mermaid leaned her white arms on the edge of the vessel, and looked towards the east for the first blush of morning, for that first ray of dawn that would bring her death. She saw her sisters rising out of the flood: they were as pale as herself; but their long beautiful hair waved no more in the wind, and had been cut off. “We have given our hair to the witch,” said they, “to obtain help for you, that you may not die to-night. She has given us a knife: here it is, see it is very sharp. Before the sun rises you must plunge it into the heart of the prince; when the warm blood falls upon your feet they will grow together again, and form into a fish’s tail, and you will be once more a mermaid, and return to us to live out your three hundred years before you die and change into the salt sea foam. Haste, then; he or you must die before sunrise. Our old grandmother moans so for you, that her white hair is falling off from sorrow, as ours fell under the witch’s scissors. Kill the prince and come back; hasten: do you not see the first red streaks in the sky? In a few minutes the sun will rise, and you must die.” And then they sighed deeply and mournfully, and sank down beneath the waves.

The little mermaid drew back the crimson curtain of the tent, and beheld the fair bride with her head resting on the prince’s breast. She bent down and kissed his fair brow, then looked at the sky on which the rosy dawn grew brighter and brighter; then she glanced at the sharp knife, and again fixed her eyes on the prince, who whispered the name of his bride in his dreams. She was in his thoughts, and the knife trembled in the hand of the little mermaid: then she flung it far away from her into the waves; the water turned red where it fell, and the drops that spurted up looked like blood. She cast one more lingering, half-fainting glance at the prince, and then threw herself from the ship into the sea, and thought her body was dissolving into foam. The sun rose above the waves, and his warm rays fell on the cold foam of the little mermaid, who did not feel as if she were dying. She saw the bright sun, and all around her floated hundreds of transparent beautiful beings; she could see through them the white sails of the ship, and the red clouds in the sky; their speech was melodious, but too ethereal to be heard by mortal ears, as they were also unseen by mortal eyes. The little mermaid perceived that she had a body like theirs, and that she continued to rise higher and higher out of the foam. “Where am I?” asked she, and her voice sounded ethereal, as the voice of those who were with her; no earthly music could imitate it. “Among the daughters of the air,” answered one of them. “A mermaid has not an immortal soul, nor can she obtain one unless she wins the love of a human being. On the power of another hangs her eternal destiny. But the daughters of the air, although they do not possess an immortal soul, can, by their good deeds, procure one for themselves. We fly to warm countries, and cool the sultry air that destroys mankind with the pestilence. We carry the perfume of the flowers to spread health and restoration. After we have striven for three hundred years to all the good in our power, we receive an immortal soul and take part in the happiness of mankind. You, poor little mermaid, have tried with your whole heart to do as we are doing; you have suffered and endured and raised yourself to the spirit-world by your good deeds; and now, by striving for three hundred years in the same way, you may obtain an immortal soul.” The little mermaid lifted her glorified eyes towards the sun, and felt them, for the first time, filling with tears. On the ship, in which she had left the prince, there were life and noise; she saw him and his beautiful bride searching for her; sorrowfully they gazed at the pearly foam, as if they knew she had thrown herself into the waves. Unseen she kissed the forehead of her bride, and fanned the prince, and then mounted with the other children of the air to a rosy cloud that floated through the aether.

The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen

                                         The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen

 Once upon a time, in a splendid palace on the bed of the bluest ocean, lived the Sea King, a wise old triton with a long flowing white beard. He lived in a magnificent palace, built of gaily coloured coral and seashells, together with his five daughters, very beautiful mermaids. Sirenetta, the youngest and loveliest of them all, also had a beautiful voice, and when she sang, the fishes flocked from all over the sea to listen to her. The shells gaped wide, showing their pearls and even the jellyfish stopped to listen. The young mermaid often sang, and each time, she would gaze upwards, seeking the faint sunlight that scarcely managed to filter down into the depths. “Oh, how I’d love to go up there and at last see the sky, which everyone says is so pretty, and hear the voices of humans and smell the scent of the flowers!” “You’re still too young!” said her mother. “In a year or two, when you’re fifteen. Only then will the King let you go up there, like your sisters!” Sirenetta spent her time wishing for the world of humans, she listened to her sisters’ stories, and every time they returned from the surface, she would ask them questions, to satisfy her curiosity. And as she waited for the day when she too would be allowed to reach the surface of the sea and meet the unknown world, Sirenetta spent her time in her wonderful sea garden. The seahorses kept her company, and sometimes a dolphin would come and play. Only the unfriendly starfish never replied when she called. At last, her long-desired birthday came. The night before, Sirenetta could not sleep a wink. In the morning, her father called her and, stroking her long golden hair, slipped a lovely carved flower into her locks . . . “There, now you can go to the surface. You’ll breathe air and see the sky. But remember! It’s not our world! We can only watch it and admire! We’re children of the sea and have no soul, as men do. Be careful and keep away from them; they can only bring bad luck!” In a second, Sirenetta had kissed her father and was darting smoothly towards the surface of the sea. She swam so fast with flicks of her slender tail, that even the fish could not keep up with her. Suddenly she popped out of the water. How wonderful! For the first time, she saw the great blue sky, in which as dusk began to fall, the first stars were peeping out and twinkling. The sun, already over the horizon, trailed a golden reflection that gently faded on the heaving waves. High overhead, a flock of gulls spotted the little mermaid and greeted her arrival with shrieks of pleasure. “It’s so lovely!” she exclaimed happily. But another nice surprise was in store for her: a ship was slowly sailing towards the rock on which Sirenetta was sitting. The sailors dropped anchor and the ship swayed gently in the calm sea. Sirenetta watched the men go about their work aboard, lighting the lanterns for the night. She could clearly hear their voices. “I’d love to speak to them!” she said to herself. But then she gazed sadly at her long flexible tail, her equivalent of legs, and said to herself: “I can never be like them!” Aboard ship, a strange excitement seemed to seize the crew, and a little later, the sky became a spray of many coloured lights and the crackle of fireworks filled the sky. “Long live the captain! Hurray for his 20th birthday. Hurray! Hurray . . . many happy returns!” Astonished at all this, the little mermaid caught sight of the young man in whose honour the display was being held. Tall and dignified, he was smiling happily, and Sirenetta could not take her eyes from him. She followed his every movement, fascinated by all that was happening. The party went on, but the sea grew more agitated. Sirenetta anxiously realized that the men were now in danger: an icy wind was sweeping the waves, the ink black sky was torn by flashes of lightning, then a terrible storm broke suddenly over the helpless ship. In vain Sirenetta screamed: “Look out! Beware of the sea . . .” But the howling wind carried her words away, and the rising waves swept over the ship. Amidst the sailors’ shouts, masts and sails toppled onto the deck, and with a sinister splintering sound, the ship sank.

By the light of one of the oil lamps Sirenetta had seen the young captain fall into the water, and she swam to his rescue. But she could not find him in the high waves and, tired out, was about to give up, when suddenly there he was on the crest of a nearby wave. In an instant, he was swept straight into the mermaids arms. The young man was unconscious and the mermaid held his head above water in the stormy sea, in an effort to save his life. She clung to him for hours trying to fight the tiredness that was overtaking her. Then, as suddenly as it had sprung up, the storm died away. ln a grey dawn over a still angry sea, Sirenetta realized thankfully that land lay ahead. Aided by the motion of the waves, she pushed the captain’s body onto the shore, beyond the water’s edge. Unable herself to walk, the mermaid sat wringing her hands, her tail lapped by the rippling water, trying to warm the young captain with her own body. Then the sound of approaching voices startled Sirenetta and she slipped back into deeper water. “Come quickly! Quickly!” came a woman’s voice in alarm. “There’s a man here! Look, I think he’s unconscious!” The captain was now in good hands. “Let’s take him up to the castle!” “No, no! Better get help . . .” And the first thing the young man saw when he opened his eyes again was the beautiful face of the youngest of a group of three ladies. “Thank you! Thank you . . . for saving my life . . .” he murmured to the lovely unknown lady.

From the sea Sirenetta watched the man she had snatched from the waves turn towards the castle, without knowing that a mermaid had saved his life. Slowly swimming out to sea, Sirenetta felt that there on the beach she had left behind something she could never bring herself to forget. How wonderful those tremendous hours in the storm had been, as she had battled with the elements. And as she swam down towards her father’s palace, her sisters came to meet her, anxious to know what had kept her so long on the surface. Sirenetta started to tell her story, but suddenly a lump came to her throat and, bursting into tears, she fled to her room. She stayed there for days, refusing to see anyone or to touch food. She knew that her love for the young captain was without hope, for she was a mermaid and could never marry a human. Only the Witch of the Deeps could help her. But what price would she have to pay? Sirenetta decided to ask the Witch. “. . . so you want to get rid of your fishy tail, do you? I expect you’d like to have a pair of woman’s legs, isn’t that so?” said the nasty Witch scornfully, from her cave guarded by a giant squid. “Be warned!” she went on. “You will suffer horribly, as though a sword were cutting you apart. And every time you place your feet on the earth, you will feel dreadful pain!” “It doesn’t matter!” whispered Sirenetta, with tears in her eyes. “As long as I can go back to him!” “And that’s not all!” exclaimed the Witch. “In exchange for my spell, you must give me your lovely voice. You’ll never be able to utter a word again! And don’t forget! If the man you love marries someone else, you will not be able to turn into a mermaid again. You will just dissolve in water like the foam on the wave!” “All right!” said Sirenetta, eagerly taking the little jar holding the magic potion. The Witch had told Sirenetta that the young captain was actually a prince, and the mermaid left the water at a spot not far from the castle. She pulled herself onto the beach, then drank the magic potion. An agonizing pain made her faint, and when she came to her senses, she could mistily see the face she loved, smiling down at her. The witch’s magic had worked the spell, for the prince had felt a strange desire to go down to the beach, just as Sirenetta was arriving. There he had stumbled on her, and recalling how he too had once been washed up on the shore, gently laid his cloak over the still body, cast up by the waves. “Don’t be frightened!” he said quickly. “You’re quite safe! Where have you come from?” But Sirenetta was now dumb and could not reply, so the young man softly stroked her wet cheek.

“I’ll take you to the castle and look after you,” he said. In the days that followed, the mermaid started a new life. She wore splendid dresses and often went out on horseback with the prince. One evening, she was invited to a great ball at Court. However, as the Witch had foretold, every movement and each step she took was torture. Sirenetta bravely put up with her suffering, glad to be allowed to stay near her beloved prince. And though she could not speak to him, he was fond of her and showered kindness on her, to her great joy. However, the young man’s heart really belonged to the unknown lady he had seen as he lay on the shore, though he had never met her since, for she had returned at once to her own land. Even when he was in the company of Sirenetta, fond of her as he was, the unknown lady was always in his thoughts. And the little mermaid, guessing instinctively that she was not his true love, suffered even more. She often crept out of the castle at night, to weep by the seashore. Once she thought she could spy her sisters rise from the water and wave at her, but this made her feel sadder than ever. Fate, however, had another surprise in store. From the Castle ramparts one day, a huge ship was sighted sailing into the harbour. Together with Sirenetta, the prince went down to meet it. And who stepped from the vessel, but the unknown lady who had been for long in the prince’s heart. When he saw her, he rushed to greet her. Sirenetta felt herself turn to stone and a painful feeling pierced her heart: she was about to lose the prince for ever. The unknown lady too had never forgotten the young man she had found on the beach and soon after, he asked her to marry him. Since she too was in love, she happily said “yes”. A few days after the wedding, the happy couple were invited for a voyage on the huge ship, which was still in the harbour. Sirenetta too went on board, and the ship set sail. Night fell, and sick at heart over the loss of the prince, Sirenetta went on deck. She remembered the Witch’s prophecy, and was now ready to give up her life and dissolve in the sea. Suddenly she heard a cry from the water and dimly saw her sisters in the darkness. “Sirenetta! Sirenetta! It’s us, your sisters! We’ve heard all about what happened! Look! Do you see this knife? It’s magic! The Witch gave it to us in exchange for our hair. Take it! Kill the prince before dawn, and you will become a mermaid again and forget all your troubles!”

As though in a trance, Sirenetta clasped the knife and entered the cabin where the prince and his bride lay asleep. But as she gazed at the young man’s sleeping face, she simply blew him a furtive kiss, before running back on deck. When dawn broke, she threw the knife into the sea. Then she shot a parting glance at the world she was leaving behind, and dived into the waves, ready to turn into the foam of the sea from whence she had come, and vanish. As the sun rose over the horizon, it cast a long golden ray of light across the sea, and in the chilly water, Sirenetta turned towards it for the last time. Suddenly, as though by magic, a mysterious force drew her out of the water, and she felt herself lifted high into the sky. The clouds were tinged with pink, the sea rippled in the early mornlng breeze, and the little mermaid heard a whisper through the tinkling of bells: “Sirenetta, Sirenetta! Come with us…” “Who are you?” asked the mermaid, surprised to find she had recovered the use of her voice. “Where am l?” “You’re with us in the sky. We’re the fairies of the air! We have no soul as men do, but our task is to help them. We take amongst us only those who have shown kindness to men!” Greatly touched, Sirenetta looked down over the sea towards the prince’s ship, and felt tears spring to her eyes. The fairies of the air whispered to her: “Look! The earth flowers are waiting for our tears to turn into the morning dew! Come along with us…”